High-Speed Photographs

[dantheman3141]

I have just finished a sound-activated high-speed flash photography rig... and the pictures are pretty cool. I have pictures of pencils snapping, balloons popping, lightbulbs shattering, and *ahem* a steel ball bearing dropping into *cough* jello and chocolate pudding. Pretty funny.

[lasher511]

Nice work man. I like the one of the balloon

[twomers]

Got any computer screens you don't need? Or microwaves? Find a high wall and push.

[scru]

The ballon one is hot.

Just a suggestion, get some better lens or sensors. The image quality could better show what is happening (especially the one with the jello)

[dantheman3141]

The ballon one is hot.

Just a suggestion, get some better lens or sensors. The image quality could better show what is happening (especially the one with the jello)

It only cost me 20 Dollars to make with existing supplies (eg. jello and camera).

Just a thought.

[lasher511]

Got any computer screens you don't need? Or microwaves? Find a high wall and push.

I have 2 LCD's and 2 CRT's that would work perfectly. Can't say i have a wall though.

[hbk619]

That is pretty cool, random but cool.

[twomers]

>> Can't say i have a wall though.
Damn. Can you throw high?
Also, can you set off a sequence of snapshots? You know once the sound triggers could you take (say), five photos as fast as possible after that?

[dantheman3141]

>> Can't say i have a wall though.
Damn. Can you throw high?
Also, can you set off a sequence of snapshots? You know once the sound triggers could you take (say), five photos as fast as possible after that?

Unfortunately, No. The disposeable camera (Which supplies the 1/1000th second long flash to light the scene) does not charge fast enough to make even one flash every second, let alone several hundred a second. A strobe might suffice. The other problem. If I did get a strobe, the camera would be exposed several times (Hence ruining the shot). Sorry, gotta leave the Image Sequences to the pros (Who have much more money).

Edit:
The sound dosen't trigger the camera. Insted I enter a dark room, and open the shutter for about 10 seconds. I have the ISO set to 100,and the f/Stop set to 4.5. Since the flash would go off several times, it would make for a very bright picture.

[MidiMagic]

What is the second picture?

[dantheman3141]

That is a steel bearing dropping into Jello brand gelatin... If you are talking about the red one.

[lasher511]

I don't suppose you would be able to post instructions on here about how you build it. I would be interested in putting my own version together and possibly adding in a second picture of to be taken 1 second after the initial one.

[dantheman3141]

I don't suppose you would be able to post instructions on here about how you build it. I would be interested in putting my own version together and possibly adding in a second picture of to be taken 1 second after the initial one.

Yes, I will think about that. Anyone wishing to build one should be willing to accept failure, and needs to know how to solder.
I will post instructions as soon as I write them.

[dantheman3141]

People, I strongly urge you to only attempt this if you know what you are doing. There are high voltages involved in this (200-1000 Volts) And you can get shocked. I strongly advise the utmost caution while attempting this. While the shock will not really harm you, it is extremely painful. BE CAREFUL.
First, The Materials.
A Disposable Camera (2-5 Dollars)
An Older 3.5 mm Stereo Jack (Free - 1 Dollar, Electronic Goldmine - 6 Ft. Cable )
A SCR (Silicon Controlled Rectifier, Like A Transistor) (Digi-Key,Digi-Key #EC103D-ND, 39 Cents)
Electret microphone (Just a normal microphone, WITH A STEREO 3.5 MM JACK) (Free)
A Camera Capable of Prolonged Exposures or a bulb "B" Exposure Setting (AKA A newer SLR camera)
A Multimeter with a high-voltage DC option.

The Steps

Take apart the disposable camera (CAREFULLY) So that the only parts remaining are the circuit board and the battery. Remove the battery. Short the capacitor. ( The capacitor is the cylindrical thing. It has two leads. Put a piece of wire or metal pliers across the two leads to short it. It might make a loud sound. And smoke. This is normal. )You need to solder wires to two places. These wires trip the flash. Sometimes the places you need to solder this are obscure in location, but are sometimes obvious. I recommend going to your local CVS and grabbing one of their CVS brand cameras (AKA the cheapest). When you take it apart, there should be two leads that are made of thin copper. They will be very close, and flexible. If you touch them, you will receive a small, short shock. Most of the time. You need to solder one wire to each. Then find the flash ready switch. This is under the button that charges the flash. It should be easy to find.

Next, Get that SCR out of the little baggy it came in. Face it so the curved edge is on the table and the leads are facing toward you. Remember those two wires you soldered to the camera? Use the multimeter to find which one is positive and negative. You need to put the battery in to do this. It should charge. If it doesn't, check the connection you made with the little charging switch you made. After it charges and you know which lead is positive and negative, short the capacitor AFTER taking out the battery. You need to solder the positive lead to the right lead of the SCR, and the negative lead to the left lead of the SCR.

Next, cut off one end of that nice cable. There should be three leads. If you need help with this part, contact me. There should be a red, black, and white wire inside the cable. Solder the black wire to the left lead of the SCR. Solder the red and white wires to the center lead of the SCR. You are very close to being done!

Next, go on to your computer. Plug in that microphone into the microphone port. Change the master volume so that when you talk into the microphone, you can hear your self over the computers speakers. This can be done by turning the microphone volume all the way up and Un-muting it (If it was muted). Next, plug in your cable (That goes to the camera) to the speaker jack. Put in the battery. If all goes well, if you clap or something like that next to the microphone, the flash will go off. If it doesn't, I cannot help you. You will need to troubleshoot on your own.

For the fun part. Turn off the lights. Put in the battery. Set your camera to "B" or a shutter exposure of about 5-10 seconds. If possible, set the F number to 4.5 and the ISO to 100.
Open the shutter, and take your picture!

PM me if you have issues. With the camera.

[lasher511]

Thanks man. Sounds like a good weekend project to try.

[dantheman3141]

Thanks man. Sounds like a good weekend project to try.

Oh shoot. Forgot to mention. When you find the Flash Ready Switch, solder it in the "On" Posistion. And you should probably turn on the microphone boost on your computer. I really reccommend that, because, mine didnt work until I did that.

[MidiMagic]

I once made one with an audio amplifier, an optoisolator, a resistor, and a camera flashgun.

The ball bearing in the jello looked like a sink dyed red (with the ball being the drain) to me.